DELIBERATE DECISION-MAKING BY AIRCRAFT PILOTS - A SIMPLE REMINDER TO AVOID DECISION-MAKING UNDER PANIC

The problem of poor decision making by pilots has been identified clea rly as a significant contributor to aviation accidents. Various progra ms have been developed to address the problem and are being applied, p rincipally in ab initio pilot training. International airlines and mil itary aviation authorities have developed their own programs. The purp ose of this study was to develop an intervention that exposes existing general aviation pilots to this training. The intervention was applie d to a sample of 400 pilots. Analysis of the follow-up questionnaire r esponses shows an overwhelming acceptance and an indication that it ha s produced positive attitude changes in some individuals. The results indicate the validity of the intervention for broad scale application to all pilots.